Birdbaths
by Mon Esprit Libre
Summary: 5/? - Suzume had never noticed just how important she was to him until that morning, standing alone in her room with only a plush penguin for company. Mazume. Drabble. Sporadic updates, rated T.
1. One - Bubbles and Gifts

**Title: Birdbaths**

**Rating: Rated T.**

**Pairings: Mazume (Mamura x Suzume).**

**Genre: Romance.**

**Summary: Unlike some things, a gift's meaning was deeper than just its contents.  
**

**Regarding Q&A: Any questions regarding the story can be asked via PM or review.**

**Beta: N/A - Help wanted.**

**Warnings: None.**

**Category: Hirunaka no Ryūsei.**

**Uploaded: December 9th, 2013**

**(Section Break)**

He smells like soap.

She notices this at first, a simple chance where she lingers too long and his scent reaches her after just a few seconds. The smell bubbles off of him, floating up into her nose, and she decides that it is a very..._clean_ smell. It itself is faint, a simple dusting of snow on a cold day in the foreign-to-her city, but it is comforting. Scent is not a priority of hers, but in comparison with the lingering memories filled with cigarette smoke and one-sided-yet-not love, it is a welcome change that is long overdue.

The first time she decides to get her classmate a gift, for his birthday no less, such thoughts do not particularly cross her mind. The excitement and joy of going to Tsukiji overwhelms the haunting images of her former forbidden love, and she debates what to buy him for such a momentous occasion.

It is hard, she decides, and eventually during one of her endeavors to buy food she notices in a shop window a pair of headphones. She inwardly jokes that indeed, soap would be a bad gift choice no matter how good it smells, and taking a glance at the last of the funds in her wallet while wondering why she had even considered it in the first place, she enters the store's entryway with a soft jingle as the bell signaling her arrival rings. Just a while later she presents him with it, and while immediately he does not express feelings about it, she soon discovers he is happy with her present.

With that in mind, that night on her way home and her stomach full of seafood, she sees a storefront displaying little soaps. Despite her intuition telling her _no, you just gave him something, it'll get odd,_ the small and cheerful ring of a door's bell once again enters her hearing. That night, turning the miniature box of fragranced solid over and over again, she decides with a light heart that it would be a nice thank-you present.

The phone call she receives that night from him was unexpected and startling, but the next morning as she brushes her hair and braids it with skilled and delicate fingers, she makes sure to still grab the small bag on her way out the door. Her uncle's gaze lingers on her as she leaves, and as she arrives at school and encounters her classmate, immediately she presses the gift to his chest with an extended arm.

"A thank-you for the outing yesterday," she breathes, leaving as soon as his hands slowly reach up to grasp it. She avoids his eyes that day, even with the awkward and fumble-inducing encounters with her teacher and the peculiar way it is dealt with by him.

The next time they see each other, her braids a bit messier than normal, she notices as she sits down that she smells something different. And she notices that he no longer is looking at her, either. A grin hidden by her hand breaks her face, and soon she discovers that the view outside is much more beautiful than she had ever thought. She could even smell the flowers as if they were right next to her, just feet away.

Perhaps they were.

**(Section Break)**

***silently adds the word "ryuusei" so this shows up on Google***

**This fic will be all my sort-of-almost-long-enough-to-be-standalone fics. So enjoy, hehe.**

**Send help. Please. I have problems.**

**Well, if you review, virtual cookies. If not, that's fine too. As long as you like the story, everything's all good!**

**Shameless advertising: **I have another Mazume Hirunaka no Ryūsei fanfiction called _Opacity_, by the way. And if you're interested, I also have various other one-shots for One Piece and Naruto, most of them parody.


	2. Two - Strawberry Ice Cream

**Title: Birdbaths**

**Rating: Rated T.**

**Pairings: Mazume (Mamura x Suzume).**

**Genre: Romance.**

**Summary: It doesn't make sense why she would want something like that in such cold weather, but he goes along with her anyway.**

**Regarding Q&A: Any questions regarding the story can be asked via PM or review.**

**Beta: N/A - Help wanted.**

**Warnings: None.**

**Category: Hirunaka no Ryūsei.**

**Uploaded: December 13th, 2013**

**(Section Break)**

"I want ice cream."

Sitting on the edge of the wooden platform, her contorted robe-like clothing draping around her shoulders, she says this. Her fingers tingle from the icy weather and she feels the cold radiate off the snow underneath her feet.

He looks at her incredulously, the silence of sitting and watching the late night sky broken. "Ice cream?"

She nods. "Strawberry ice cream, in particular." She glances at the stars. "Sprinkles, maybe."

He wraps the towel from his bath around his shoulders further. "It's snowing."

"Yes, it is."

His hand twitches. "We ate dinner a few hours ago."

She looks at him oddly. "Yes, we did. Did the bath give you temporary amnesia, Mamura?"

"I'm going to bed," he mutters, scooting back. His warm pajamas are kept down against the flooring as his body weight shifts, and using his hand to support himself, he stands up. They look at each other, one with a blank stare and the other with a mildly curious expression. "Are you going to stay out here?"

She hums. "Maybe."

"You have to get up tomorrow to see the others off, you know."

She ponders over this, her finger touching her chin. Through the cold, her breaths come out as white vapour, and she says, "Maybe I'll feel more tired after having strawberry ice cream with sprinkles."

His entire arm twitches, but she doesn't seem to notice. "Are you made of ice or something?"

"You don't seem cold either," she points out.

He gives her a deadpan look. "It's midnight and it's snowing. You want ice cream before going to bed."

She nods once more, and he sighs. "Go to bed," he says. "There probably isn't any ice cream in the house, anyway."

"Oh. Sure."

She stops talking, unmoving, and he is left there standing awkwardly. Her eyes gaze back to the explosions millions of light years away, her legs swinging off the edge of the platform. The silence is long, and he is unsure of what to do.

"Weren't you going to bed?" she asks, looking at him.

"Yes."

"Why haven't you gone?"

He shrugs.

"Get me some strawberry ice cream, then."

The twitch moves to his eye. He leaves, feet padding over the wood to the direction of the bedroom.

She breathes deeply to herself, biding her time until her nose eventually turns a cherry red. The moonlight streams in from the opening she she sits in, and bringing her legs up she wraps her arms around them. The freeze of the outside makes them feel colder than what she imagines a walk-in freezer to be like, and mumbling to herself, she realises she really _would_ like strawberry ice cream. With sprinkles.

A person sitting down next to her brings her out of her thoughts, and looking to the side, her classmate had returned. She doesn't realise what is happening until a bowl is shoved in her eyesight, too close to focus upon, and she backs up to see it. Behind, she can clearly spot the amnesiac from earlier who seemed colder than her, judging by his face, but looking closely she notices the bowl has something frozen and pink in it, as well as a rainbow-coloured topping. Slowly reaching up to grasp it, it falls into her hands, and peering inside, it is strawberry ice cream with sprinkles.

"Ah," she murmurs.

He makes no reply, handing her a metal spoon chillier than the ice not three feet away. "Here."

She takes the utensil. "Thank you."

She notices another bowl, one in his own hands. It too is full of rosy dessert, and a smile plays at her lips.

"You got some too," she teases.

He looks away uncomfortably, and she questions why he looks like hypothermia had begun to creep up on him despite her having been sitting in the winter temperatures longer.

"And?" he mutters.

She shakes her head, a giggle escaping her, and scooping a bite she inhales the ice cream. It is cold, and bursts of fruit cover her tongue. A few spoonfuls later, she hears another clank of metal against dishes. He is eating now as well, and sitting there bathed in the soft shine of the stars, she idly swirls the food she has around and around the bowl as she lets it melt on her tongue. Her nose tingles more than before, and she wonders if it was a good idea to have the dessert. Another breath of vapour escapes her, and shaking her head once more at her ridiculous thoughts, she admires the quiet landscape, the feeling of happiness warming her being.

"I'm going to bed," her companion says, and looking over at his face which is probably red from the combination of the chill from both the ice cream and the weather, she nods.

"Thank you for the ice cream."

"Yeah."

He is finished and probably colder than her, as his blond hair is still damp, and she too stands, picking up both their bowls afterwards. "Goodnight," she says. He acknowledges the farewell with a simple incline of his head, and heading off to the kitchen, she takes one last look at his back as he leaves.

She has to admit that the ice cream hadn't helped her at all on her trek to sleep.

_It can't be helped, though, _she muses to herself._ Ice cream with Mamura is worth it._

**(Section Break)**

***silently adds the word "ryuusei" so this shows up on Google***

**I'm trying something different in this one. Not as good as I had hoped, but this is pretty much an experiment of romance writing stuffz, so why not. I might use past tense in some of these. It's probably a better idea anyway, yeah? Well, maybe not, but we'll see~**

**Well, if you review, virtual cookies. If not, that's fine too. As long as you like the story, everything's all good!**

**Shameless advertising: **I have another Mazume Hirunaka no Ryūsei fanfiction called _Opacity_, by the way. And if you're interested, I also have various other one-shots for One Piece and Naruto, most of them parody.


	3. Three - Birdcages

**Title: Birdbaths**

**Rating: Rated T.**

**Pairings: Mazume (Mamura x Suzume).**

**Genre: Romance.**

**Summary: She occasionally wondered if being the best she could be is truly good enough for anyone but herself.**

**Regarding Q&A: Any questions regarding the story can be asked via PM or review.**

**Beta: N/A - Help wanted.**

**Warnings: None.**

**Category: Hirunaka no Ryūsei.**

**Uploaded: December 17th, 2013**

**(Section Break)**

She compares herself to a bird sometimes. Intelligent, majestic, beautiful, graceful; average, unimpressive, normal, clumsy. It is not a pleasant comparison, she ponders. Why is she named after such a wonder of the earth?

The words breathed out from behind her, escaping the lips of the blond she sits next to, do not match what she feels. The peculiar elation she feels as he motions for her to hurry so she could be escorted home by him, a red blossoming that she cannot see from the angle she has on his face, does not reflect what she sees in herself.

Eagles are proud, crows are crafty. So what is a sparrow? Tiny, cute, cuddly. Not meant for roughhousing. Plain and uninspiring.

The thoughts of things such as those do not leave even as she nods at the invitation, a rose garden blooming prettily for an early spring within her, basking in the warmth of her personal sun. The interior of a classroom after school hours bids her farewell as she stares into space while daydreaming, and the soft and subtle presence of a boy she found herself chasing after slowly becomes less prominent.

He murmurs something, but even as the words are leaving him she does not hear them. Silently his mouth moves, sounds coming out that are inaudible to her. She does not register as he waits for her response, nor does she seem to notice the darkening of the sunlight as the giant star in the sky is covered by rainclouds. He waves his hand in front of her face in a gesture much unlike himself, and even as it catches her drifting attention she cannot hear anything but the slow rustling of the trees in the wind outside. The soft smile she gains makes her a fake doll of porcelain, and halfway through the sliding doors she hadn't realised she is being lead through does she notice that she can hear the slowed-down echo of his shoes on the cold floor. They clunk.

The rustles of the outside turn into pitters, then patters, and she gazes out the window blankly as the world becomes a stormy cage. The pair walk down staircases, his body close enough for her to feel the temperature even through the thick humidity that clamored both her and the air. Her ankles become turned at inattentive angles, and she finds herself looking directly upwards at the ceiling without meaning to, a throbbing pain echoing within her head. More words come out, mouthing something or other, and blinking slowly her ears stop ringing from the fall.

"Suzume?"

Thousands of pages of sheet music spin themselves to his lips, molding his vocal cords into a harmony. She wonders why such a beautiful sound has been silent to her ears for so long. She makes eye contact with him, hearing as the audiobook is played hundreds of times in her head until she memorises even the dictionary word for word, definition for definition. He offers her a rough hand, and with a hoist she is up once more, vision tumbling as fairies sprinkle black glitter in her eyes. The rest of the steps are not unlike a rickety bridge, and only with a claw and a hoof intermingled does she make it to the bottom safely.

Mourning clouds dot the atmosphere outside, glimpses of overhead shields wielded by civilians visible to all. She does not have one. Sparrows are not meant to go to battle. However, it seems horses are, and the canopy above her as she steps outside creates a nice contrast from the bars up in the sky. The white of the fabric is too cheery, and glancing sorrowfully up, she pities the condensed vapour. They take a step out, then another, and soon the two are in silence as they walk. Puddles cling to indents in the ground, and absently she muses if the earth is crying back.

They reach her street, and she is quiet as she pads along. The ripples in the water grow as the storm does, and decidedly she thinks the day had been uninspiring like herself.

She sees something, something she had never noticed before. She pauses, and a second later so does he, looking back at her. His hair is as blond as a white stallion's; hers is as coffee-coloured as the tail of the bird for which she is named.

The eagle inside her rushes forth, spurred by the sight, and she belatedly feels her legs running underneath her. They impact repeatedly with the ground, and finally she stops breathlessly at a park. The soaked uniform she bears clings to her skin, and a part of her realises that she will probably catch a cold because of her actions. Repeated clunks come from the direction from whence she came, and soon another heavily-breathing student is beside her, the umbrella that adorns simple and plain vibrancy above her head once more. The trees from the scenery block out the cage high in the clouds, and she looks at the person that so willingly chased after her much like she had him.

"Mamura?"

The name of her classmate leaves her vocal cords softly, the loud rhythm of the falling tears of far-gone angels nearly overwhelming her question. The boy looks at her, eyes a muddy mess of confusion and perhaps relief, and she continues to speak.

"What...do you find special about me?"

The last pained gasps for oxygen in the humidity pass through his throat, and standing straight once again afterwards, he leads them over to a brick wall to lean upon. His body language is heavy with tension and a lack of understanding, and the answers he racks his brain for do not come in the most presentable of forms right away. He mulls over the inquiry further, and as the rain hits the top of the blank shelter he holds in his hand he replies.

"You can't do things normal people can."

He says no more, so she speculates. The answer is a half-empty half-full type of reply, and glancing at him from the corner of her eye, she sees him watching the rustling trees as she thinks. The negative connotation latched onto the words he spoke pierces her heart, turning the blade in circles over and over, and she sighs as an ache appears in her chest.

"Meaning?" she mumbles.

The wind blows a bit harsher, ruffling their clothing.

"...You're irreplaceable," he finally says. "That's what it means."

Tinges the colour of sakura petals in the spring work their way to the surface of her skin as he answers, and only the reason to keep the canopy overhead forces him to retain the straining position his arm is in as the feeling hurriedly turns mutual. The desire to cover the muted prickle in his cheeks grows large enough that he brings up his other hand to cover his now-pastel face, and the embarrassing action that warms the little sparrow's fragile heart is wondrous. A tiny smile faint enough to fool most into believing it was a neutral expression overcomes her, and moving her hand she latches on to the tan sleeve of his winter coat, grasp loose. The wet grass swishes at her feet, and as she turns to face him, the one she worked so hard to reach for, she slowly wraps her arms around his middle.

The warmth of his body radiates to hers through the cold liquid hailing from above, and leaning her head in to the cloth surrounding him she feels him stiffen considerably. She doesn't look up, only tightening her hold and listening as the rain begins to clear and unlock the bindings keeping her in place underneath the vast sky. He hasn't moved, and luckily for him she is not choosing to view the deep red of blood that seems to have left every other part of him to go to his head.

"Mamura?" she whispers.

He does not trust himself to reply to such a delicate voice.

She looks up at him, smiling at the sheer colour of his face as she balances herself to stand on the front of her feet, leaning upwards. His head is frozen in place as she does so, and only the disappearance of the water falling from the heavens marks the event of her lips gently gracing across his before applying a small bit more pressure and then backing off to mumble, "You're irreplaceable, too."

**(Section Break)**

**This was hard to write but absolutely lovely in the end. I hope you enjoyed it, too~**

**Well, if you review, virtual cookies. If not, that's fine too. As long as you like the story, everything's all good!**

**Shameless advertising: **I have another Mazume Hirunaka no Ryūsei fanfiction called _Opacity_, by the way. And if you're interested, I also have various other one-shots for One Piece and Naruto, most of them parody.


	4. Four - Christmas

**Title: Birdbaths**

**Rating: Rated T.**

**Pairings: Mazume (Mamura x Suzume).**

**Summary: A merry Christmas came but once a year, and so far, she had seemed all but merry.**

**Regarding Q&A: Any questions regarding the story can be asked via PM or review.**

**Beta: N/A - Help wanted.**

**Warnings: None.**

**Category: Hirunaka no Ryūsei.**

**Uploaded: December 22nd, 2013**

**(Section Break)**

The party had too many people, he felt, and it was difficult to stay away. The food was warm and kept him satisfied in the chilly season, and the comforting noise of people surrounded him. He could hear them gossiping and telling jokes, as well as laughing and playful whining. He needed some fresh air, and perhaps it was just time for him to leave. He didn't care for such events anyway.

On the way out, he noticed the crazy transfer girl checking her phone again. He'd seen her earlier in the evening doing so, and he wondered if she was expecting someone. Her face morphed into a frown and he stopped thinking about outside at all. She got up and told a few people, probably friends, something before gathering her things up. So she was going home, apparently.

She left out the front door, and he decided he needed to go outside still anyway. He grabbed his coat and walked through the door. She walked a bit, he trailing behind her, before he saw her sigh, check her phone one last time, and look up at the stars. He followed her lead, and had to agree that they were worth looking at. The way they twinkled and contrasted against the dark background behind them was unique, and they seemed to be closer than normal. She sneezed suddenly, and when he looked at her he noticed she was quickly turning red from the cold. She was still wearing those fancy clothes, and although she had a coat overtop them, there was little doubt in his mind that she was still freezing.

He made up his mind, approaching her as she continued to look around blankly. He startled her, it seemed, by tugging on the neck of her jacket and saying, "Keep me company, will ya?"

She jumped and turned to him, surprised, then nodded upon seeing whom it was. They began to walk through the chilly night, wind ruffling his scarf and her skirt. She shivered, but soon her thoughts of the weather faded into those of the Christmas lights, if he could judge by her expression. She seemed entranced by the sparkles and shines, pointing out a lit reindeer and asking him if he saw the glowing deer. She called it beautiful, like she had called the festive pine tree adorned with strings of bulbs, and he asked her if she could say anything other than "amazing" when describing the decorations.

"It's because I've never seen something like this apart from in movies. I can't think of any other word." Her voice lowered, her hair swishing in the picking-up winds. "Amazing." She was murmuring now, a melancholy lacing her words. "It's so beautiful..."

He turned himself off to the side slightly, not facing her back. "Were...you supposed to meet him today?"

She looked over his shoulder, surprised by his question. The reflection of the holiday illuminations was easily seen in her eyes, and as they changed colour so did they. A breathy sound of confusion was mumbled, tumbling out of her lips in confusion and uncertainty, before another noise of realisation escaped her. He wasn't looking at her as he spoke afterwards, saying, "Don't hide it. I know everything about it."

Her light-heartedness died off entirely, swept away by the currents of the breeze and the flow of sorrow, before she moved to view the tree once more. "Actually, it was my birthday recently." Her breaths came off as puffs of steam, rushing up to the colder air high above. He looked at her, seeing only her silhouette backed by fairy lights wrapped around huge beasts of nature. "December first, on Saturday." She took another breath. "The same day as Fujiko Fujio's. The Fujiko F. Fujio, that is."

It was an odd statement, he felt, and the way strands of her hair began flying away from being tucked inside was chilling. "Since my birthday was around the exams," she continued, "I didn't tell anyone about it. That's why I thought...I would tell him today."

The small sounds of hustle and bustle from the surrounding people looking at the pretty decorations and out shopping was negated by her. She hadn't turned back towards him yet, and while her voice was a struggle to hear, she continued to speak. "I even wore a skirt because I wanted him to think 'you look cute' and say 'Congratulations.' But it's just never going to come true, huh...?"

The wish wasn't unfounded, in a sense.

He unravelled his scarf quickly, the one that had been so tightly wound around his neck to keep him warm from the winter's brisk cold, and he moved up to face her, wrapping it around her own neck. She seemed surprised once more, warm eyes of water widening, and with a swish the final coil was around her. "Happy birthday."

A chilled breath escaped him, vapour rising up as it had with hers. The frigid weather tingled his nose more already, and the collar of his own coat wasn't enough to protect his bare skin from the wind that still plagued the night sky.

"I said it."

Another sound of confusion ran out of her mouth, and with his back to the Christmas lights, she was the only one whose eyes were still shining because of their glow. A second passed, and in a bout of realisation he noticed that the situation had to be acted upon, although in what way he wasn't entirely sure. He raised an arm and pinched her cheek - uncomfortably, no doubt - and she garbled out what appeared to try to be his name.

"Therefore," he continued to say, "don't give me that 'I want to cry' look. Smile."

His grasp on her face was nearly gone, and the wobbling her lips began to do was oddly complimentary to the red shine on her cheeks. Whether it was from winter or joy or embarrassment or anything else that would cause such a rosy colour, he didn't mind, because he too could feel them creeping up and infecting him. She seemed to have noticed as well, saying, "Mamura, you're blushing to the ears."

He brought up his hand quickly to cover it, to hide it from her view, and after he turned she belatedly asked him if he wanted his scarf back. He replied quickly with no, saying that he gave it to her already, and she said she understood. He stood with his back to her momentarily, and since she wasn't saying anything in the silence, it was not as pleasant as he would have hoped. The voices of the people around began pouring into their ears once more, and the faint buzzing of her phone was unable to be heard.

He began to walk, figuring there was nothing else to do, and he noticed that she had followed him after just a second or two. The holiday cheer was left behind after a minute, the hard clanks of their shoes hitting the frozen sidewalk, and soon the insufferable sounds of only human movement overwhelmed one of them. She spoke up.

"This scarf," she said, nervous to speak, "has kept me warm, but it's not expensive, right?"

He glanced back at her, slightly amused, and asked, "Why? Are you unhappy with the quality?"

She gave him a deadpan look, muttering, "That's not it." She grew serious, looking downwards at the floor. A stray rock was by her foot, she noticed, and she began to talk once more. "This is the first time I've received a present from a boy...a guy friend...and that's why I'm wondering if it's really okay with you."

He looked towards the scenery behind him that he head been heading towards earlier. It was harder to talk to her if he looked, and with the variety of emotions her face reflected it was easier to say what he meant instead of what he felt would be kinder. "I don't mind at all. Besides, this is also my first time giving something to a girl."

The breeze ruffled his hair, and she murmured, "Is that so?" Her phone interrupted her, and as she rummaged through her bag, a look of forlorn longing overtook her as he looked back at her. With a soft sigh inaudible to her, he said, "I'm going home now."

She looked at him, increasingly disoriented, and once more the incessant noise of confusion she continued to make over and over escaped her mouth.

"You don't need me anymore, do you?" he asked. "See ya."

She fumbled over her words momentarily, then as a reply, she said, "Thank you...for the scarf." Her voice raised, a slightly joyous tone intertwined. "Good night!"

He felt her gaze on his back as he began walking away, and as he left, he once more could hear the faint buzzing of her phone. Sounds too far away to hear began coming out of her vocal cords, and as he left the scene entirely he didn't hear her treading footsteps anywhere near him. The serenity enveloped him, and only afterwards did he feel his face as another prickling blush attacked him viciously. He covered it with his sleeve and stopped walking and leaned against a wooden fence, taking in a deep breath and watching as condensation rose and rose after letting it out, dispersing into the dark night. Only the twinkling stars above observing him as he stumbled about over the girl he had been in tandem with, a holly-coloured glow on his face for the rest of the walk home, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

**(Section Break)**

***silently adds the word "ryuusei" so this turns up on Google***

**This was nice. Another differing thing. It's really damn hard to find a style, isn't it? Well, I'm not as proud of it as I am some other things, but I enjoyed writing it and let's face it - it's hard not to like this pairing. Seriously. In any case, this is my dearest contribution for Christmas, so I hope you enjoyed my pretty much exact recounting of canon in written form. pfffft**

**Happy other holidays, as well~**

**Thank you for reading this, too! I appreciate it very much :)**

**As always, if you review, virtual cookies. If not, that's fine too. As long as you like the story, everything's all good!**

**Shameless advertising: **I have another Mazume Hirunaka no Ryūsei fanfiction called _Opacity_, by the way. And if you're interested, I also have various other one-shots for One Piece and Naruto, most of them parody.


	5. Five - Plush Penguins

**Title: Birdbaths**

**Rating: Rated T.**

**Pairings: Mazume (Mamura x Suzume).**

**Genre: Romance.**

**Summary: Suzume had never noticed just how important she was to him until that morning, standing alone in her room with only a plush penguin for company. **

**Regarding Q&A: Any questions regarding the story can be asked via PM or review.**

**Beta: N/A—Help wanted.**

**Warnings: None.**

**Category: Hirunaka no Ryūsei.**

**Uploaded: January 13th, 2013**

**(Section Break)**

Suzume awakens blearily in the morning.

It is an hour before normal, and she is tired, her hair unkempt from tossing and turning. Sitting up slowly in her bed she stretches, her arms above her head as she works out the kinks in her back. Reluctantly she then slides off the warm sheets and shuffles over to the mirror, observing herself in the dim light of morning that streamed through her window. From the shading she makes out only crinkles in her hair and grey bags under her eyes, and sighing as she glances at the electronic alarm clock by her bed, slowly begins her morning routine.

Slipping on her school uniform matched with high socks, Suzume brushes through the creases and tangles of her brown hair and then ties it up, and giving one last unsure glance to the present of a penguin on her bed, she emerges from her room. The feelings from the previous day leave her wanting, and as she moves, her sky-coloured eyes are heavy and tired. The drawn-out walk to the kitchen comes to and end, and hungry, she scouts for breakfast. She settles on a ripe, yellow banana, and as she sleepily unpeels it, she nearly nods off once more, wanting to give in to the allure of rest. Biting into the pale fruit, she eats, the sweet yet neutral flavour of banana coating her mouth and tongue. Nibble after nibble, she finishes her meal without haste and, before her uncle sees her, she travels solemnly back to her room, her socks her keeping her feet warm and silent on the floors.

Suzume swings open her creaky door, stepping inside, and her eyes are immediately drawn once more to the plush sea creature. Her thoughts linger on the boy who confessed to her, and heading towards the bed, she lifts the penguin up. It is cute, she admits, and remembering the penguin exhibit she amusedly notices how much cuter the fake version is compared to the real thing.

"You're a silly metaphor for love," Suzume murmurs as she realises it, turning the animal over and over in her hands. She recalls the days of her childhood where she created elaborate settings for her toys to act out, and smiling, she brings the back of the penguin's head up to her mouth, whispering into its fur. "Your name is 'Ai,' got it?"

Setting the animal down onto her soft pillow, she looks at the small cellphone on her wooden bedside table. After a second, she reaches for it and slowly flips through each contact in her address book, pausing when her eyes read the name of the boy she couldn't make up her mind about. Actually, the day she received his information had been his birthday, hadn't it? He had invited her out to Tsukiji, and while she dragged him around most of the time, she had been able to thoroughly enjoy herself.

A thought strikes Suzume as she reminisces about the wonderful outing. _ Wait..._

Her grip on her phone slackens when she suddenly realises that she, above people he had known much longer—possibly all his life—had been the one he had invited. She, a transfer student that had blackmailed him into nothing but a simpleverbal agreement of friendship, ended up becoming the closest friend he had, and she had never noticed despite the many things he had done for her. Whether it be cheering her up or just being there, the same resonating idea she had thought on his birthday comes into her mind once more.

_Mamura...has always been there when I needed him the most._

Looking at the penguin again, Suzume quietly smiles, laughing lightly as a bubbly feeling envelops her because of the oh-so-simple revelation that took her far too long to figure out.

"You really are too kind, Mamura."

Tightening her grasp on her phone, Suzume made a beeline for the front door, slipping on her shoes and giving her uncle a silly excuse as she runs out, dialing Yuyuka's number into the numberpad in order to apologise for going to sweep her friend's possibly former crush away from right under her.

**(Section Break)**

**I literally screamed when I read 59 and 60. This is what happens when I don't get to read the next chapter until the 5th. I hope you enjoyed.**

**Well, if you review, virtual cookies. If not, that's fine too. As long as you like the story, everything's all good!**

**Shameless advertising: **I have another Mazume Hirunaka no Ryūsei fanfiction called _Opacity_, by the way. And if you're interested, I also have various other one-shots for One Piece and Naruto, most of them parody.


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